Roger Goodell Says NFL Is Committed to Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show: Will Be “Exciting and Uniting Moment”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reaffirmed the league’s commitment to have Bad Bunny headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, despite public pushback from the Trump administration and others over the selection of the Puerto Rican superstar.

That said, Goodell also opened the door to other entertainers joining Bad Bunny on the Super Bowl stage next February, telling reporters Wednesday that “the show will evolve from here.”

“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world. That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value, and it’s carefully thought through,” Goodell said of the choice to feature Bad Bunny as the centerpiece of the halftime show. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback and criticism. It’s pretty hard to do.”

Goodell went on to note that Super Bowl halftime shows have often featured special and surprise guests in recent years, alongside the featured performer. Last year’s show with Kendrick Lamar, for example, also included appearances from SZA, Serena Williams and Samuel L. Jackson; while the 2024 show headlined by Usher also included appearances from Ludacris, Alicia Keys and Lil Jon.

“I am not saying that there won’t be additional talent that might be involved but that’s always the way it works,” Goodell said when asked whether the league is considering any changed to the show, which is produced in conjunction with Jay Z’s Roc Nation.

Bad Bunny was selected to headline the Apple Music Halftime Show last month in something of a surprise decision.

“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown. This is for my people, my culture and our history.Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el Halftime Show Del Super Bowl,” he said in a statement at the time.

Despite the blowback to the decision (which Bad Bunny himself joked about when hosting Saturday Night Live earlier this month), Goodell said that the artist knows the importance of the halftime show platform to the league, and to popular culture.

“We’re confident it’s going to be a good show, he understands the platform that he is on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and uniting moment,” Goodell said.